Height/Weight: 5’6/155 lbs.
Age: 34
Hometown: Fortaleza, Brazil
Fighting out of: Jupiter, Fla.
Record: 18-7
The stakes: The road back from a lightweight title bout loss to Sean Sherk and subsequent suspension for steroid usage has been a rough one for Franca; he’s been relegated to preliminary status after losing his return fight to Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 14 in July. However, the demotion has given Franca the opportunity to go into “Kill Bill” mode and settle an old score with American Top Team and Aurelio, his former instructor.
The breakdown: A born slugger who happens to have a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Franca’s unusual in that he relies on his excellent submission skills only when opponents head to the ground in search of relief from his endless volleys of haymakers. Against Aurelio, sticking to the swing-until-he-stops-moving approach could pay dividends, as Franca’s often hapless takedown defense leaves him vulnerable to Aurelio’s methodical top control style.
Aurelio Scouting Report
Height/Weight: 5’10/155 lbs.
Age: 35
Hometown: Fortaleza, Brazil
Fighting out of: Coconut Creek, Fla.
Record: 16-6
The stakes: Once viewed as a real threat in the lightweight division, Aurelio is rapidly turning into a paper tiger, as all of his UFC wins have come against borderline competition. If Aurelio expects to become a UFC mainstay -- an iffy proposition at this point -- he desperately needs to rediscover the form that allowed him to turn Takanori Gomi into a glorified grappling dummy.
The breakdown: To say Aurelio’s time in the UFC has been schizophrenic would be putting it mildly. He has looked spectacular against the division’s lesser-known fighters and has appeared absolutely clueless when matched with legitimate competition. Franca’s hardly a sacrificial lamb, and Aurelio needs to stick to his game plan, load up his shot and secure top control before he gets throttled.
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The bottom line: It will be interesting to see how the bad blood between these former teammates plays out. Will we see Aurelio actually show the aggression he has promised? He’s not going to submit Franca, and he’d be hard pressed to survive more than a minute standing. Considering the mind-numbing ground control Aurelio has shown in the past, expect liberal referee restarts to play a major role in a knockout victory for Franca.